Fresh probe into war hero's police custody death

CHOKED: Chris Alder, war veteran, was rulled to have been unlawfully killed [HULL NEWS AND PICTURES]

The Daily Star Sunday revealed “crucial” evidence surrounding Christopher Alder’s death in 1998 was not aired during a trial of five police officers which collapsed in 2002.

Nick Hardwick, who headed a police watchdog inquiry four years later, said he was unaware of it and that “it should be checked out”.

Christopher ended up in police custody after being punched outside a Hull nightclub. He was taken to hospital where he was said to have become hostile and was handed over to Humberside Police who arrested him for breach of the peace.

By the time he arrived at Hull police station the Falklands veteran was unconscious and was left handcuffed, face down.

He choked to death and an inquest ruled he was unlawfully killed.

“An inquest ruled he was unlawfully killed”

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has asked us to share the new material we hold.

A note written by Crown Prosecution Service official Chris Enzor before the manslaughter trial of five officers shows that junior prosecuting counsel Gareth Patterson had discovered that on the police CCTV tape there were “comments about putting the neck on the line, about covering the back”.

When we asked the CPS why the comments were not presented at the trial it could not say.

Christopher’s sister Janet, who has long campaigned for answers, said: “Those comments appear to be people trying to find ways of covering up what happened.